Heir To Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

In this book we return to the world Marillier created with her Sevenwaters Trilogy, an ancient Celtic world where we see heroines undergo some sort of quest involving supernatural beings, otherwise known as faeries. The heroines come from within the same family and in the actual trilogy itself a generation separates each story. Heir to Sevenwaters takes place within the same generation as the last book in the trilogy and the heroine of this novel is the cousin of the heroine in the last book. I really enjoyed the trilogy, and while I do not think this book is as good as the first book, it still brings forth the author's talented story telling.

Clodagh is the third of six daughters born to Sean and Aisling, the current residents of a household buried deep within the forests of Ireland. She has a twin who she can communicate with telepathically (as all twins could in the original trilogy). Clodagh is the practical sister, the 'boring' sister. Of all of her sisters, Clodagh would be the most likely to stay at home and look after household affairs, and she does exactly this when her elderly mother becomes pregnant with a seventh child. This child is very important to the family because he will become the heir to Sevenwaters, a boy who will be able to take his father's place and inherit the land. The child is finally born and many people come to celebrate the birth. Characters from previous novels, such as Conner and Johnny make an appearance at this time, along with some new characters like Cathal, one of Johnny's men. All seems to be going smoothly until one night when the baby is stolen away in the night, when Clodagh is with him of course, and in its place dirt, leaves and twigs are left. The pile acts just as a human baby would, it cries and eats, but only Clodagh can hear it and see it move. She feels guilt for being there when her brother was taken, and her family seems to be blaming her for it. Also, her twin sister is getting married to a foreigner and is cutting herself off from Clodagh, leaving her feeling more alone than she's ever been. Clodagh believes that the child is a changeling and her brother was taken away by the good people. Fearing that her own family will kill the faery baby and fearing that her brother is already far beyond her reach, Clodagh takes the changeling child and takes it upon herself to find her brother's kidnappers and bring him back on her own.

Clodagh, like all of heroines in this series, is reserved and practical. She's surrounded by whimsy and fantasy but she herself is always firmly planted on the ground. Despite this she shows courage and bravery and undergoes her quest with perseverance. Well written, as one will come to expect with this author, and a fast paced plot.